Because he's Sai
by Aerin Skyfeather
Summary: Because he was Sai and she was Sakura. He didn't know how to tell her. It was all she asked for, all she needed were those simple words.  But he didn't know how to say them.  One-shot SaiSaku


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Sad for me, great for everyone else. But Shikamaru still loves me.

Shikamaru: I never said that you troublesome woman.

Me: -cries-

Shikamaru: Just read and ignore her. She'll be okay.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

-Because he was Sai.-

"Lie to me." she breathed against his pale skin, inhaling the scent of damp ink and parchment, tinged with peppermint.

The wind whipped around them, cold air stinging there skin, her pink hair floating around her face, reminiscent of the cherry blossoms she was named for, the ones that had long ago fallen and withered.

"No." he said softly, looking down at the moonlit snow beneath his feet. She moved closer, her body ghosting against his own, with only the slightest of touches. If not for her radiating presence, he could almost believe that it was merely the wind brushing against his skin. If not for the way his body shivered when their skin contacted and the blistering warmth that arose whenever he grazed her skin, he could believe that he was simply imagining things.

"Please" she asked, her lips gracing his skin with a faint touch. He closed his eyes and almost gave in, almost leaned into her. But since he was Sai, he would not. He would not reach out and hold her, take her in his arms and whisper the sweet words she wanted to hear.

"No, Sakura...I..." he murmured, cut of by the feel of her satin lips moving ever so closer to his own. His lips tingled expectantly, as her breath lingered against them, setting his chest on fire.

But he was Sai, he wasn't supposed to feel these things, so he would not.

"Please, say it. Lie to me, just this once." she pleaded. His breath danced across her skin, and her shivering increased. She wanted this so badly, all she needed were those words, the beautiful lie to come from his lips.

His hand hesitantly sought her's and his fingers traced intricate patterns into her palm. Her hand was chilled but he still felt that incessant warmth come from merely brushing against her skin. He struggled with the words, his voice catching in his throat.

He felt her pull away, her sweet scent lingering with him but the warmth leaving him, the uncontrollable heat that only she could create with him, as a reaction between their bodies, it left him with a rush, and the winter air was suddenly frigid. It bit into his flesh and he knew it's cause was more than just the air around him.

"Don't go." he whispered. She stopped, slowly turning to face him, and his chest clenched painfully.

She knew that her eyes gave away too much, but at least she would not let the tears slide across her cheeks. Her eyes brimmed painfully and she blinked hard, trying to suppress her emotion.

"Sakura, stay."

"Why? Give me a reason to stay Sai!"

The tears slipped down her face silently and she breathed out a quiet curse.

His veins throbbed, his heart racing with the words. The words that he wanted to say. The words that she needed to hear. The words that he couldn't spit out. Between his heart and his throat, the distance was too great and his feelings refused to surface on his face.

"Just lie to me. That's all I need. I don't care about anything else." she said brokenly.

"Sakura, please. Just stay." he pleaded, holding out his hand.

She hesitated, but turned away, her shoulders shaking.

"Then this is where it ends. Goodbye... I loved you."

He stood immobile as she walked away, doing nothing but stare as she left.

As she slipped from his sight, the words fell from his lips.

"I love you."

It had been all he had needed to say, the only thing that he had to do to keep her with him.

She would have never left his side if he could have only formulated those three words. She didn't even care that they weren't true, or so she thought.

He held his aching chest, the one that was supposed to feel nothing as his face remained passively the same. His hair blew over his eyes, hiding the single tear drop that had strayed down his cheek. She'd never hear those words. She'd never know that he couldn't lie to her by saying them.

As his chest ached with feelings still unseen, he knew that she would never know, because he would never know how to tell her.

Because she was achingly beautiful and he didn't know how to feel.

Because she was delicate and strong but he was emptiness.

Because she was everything that he wasn't.

Because she was Sakura and he was Sai.


End file.
